Chandrika Tandon’s Healing Mantra

Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon has received a Grammy nomination for Soul Call.

Grammy Nomination-Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon

(This post covered the launch of the album. )

How many hats can a person wear? Ask Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon, the dynamic chairman of Tandon Capital Associates, who has done major restructuring surgeries in the global financial world, is executive-in-residence at New York University Stern, a member of the board of overseers of New York’s Stern School of Business, a member of the President’s Council of International Activities at Yale University, and an arts patron.

There’s more: she has the voice of an angel.

Her new album ‘Soul Call’ was what brought several hundred guests to the Aicon Gallery in a CD launch by the Indo-American Arts Council, a crowd gleaned from the many worlds she inhabits – those of business, arts, philanthropy and high society. Musicians, artists and writers mingled with CEO’s and hedge fund gurus.

Soul Call by Chandrika Tandon

Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon – Soul Call

‘Om Namo Narayanaya’ is the chant which brought about this convergence of many different people, making them forget for the moment art, business and other pressing matters. Tandon who sang live for her guests, explained: “Soul Call is a series of chants – the chant of one mantra which the Vedic scriptures identified as a protection mantra for the physical body.” While the vocals and the composition are by Tandon, the complex orchestral arrangements are by Tejendra Narayan Majumdar assisted by Snehasish Majumdar.

This healing chant is repeated in rich, varied ragas which combine Carnatic, Hindustani and western influences. Listening to it over and over, it permeates your consciousness and you find yourself getting calmer and more focused. The chant is really a verse of complete surrender to the divine, to the universal consciousness. It is all about joy.

Besides overseeing the Tandon Foundation and being on the board of American India Foundation, Tandon is also involved with the Hindu Temple Society, where she has started a choir, unusual in the Hindu tradition. Spirituality, she shows, can be a part of all that you do as she works with nonprofit organizations to bring people together and share the healing ‘Soul Call’. She says, “It’s an offering – what’s been amazing to me is that this mantra has taken on a life of its own, trying to find people it wants to meet.”

Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon (Photo:Sunita Thyagarajan)

Chandrika Tandon On Soul Call

Quite by accident I discovered that repeating the eight phonemes Om Na Mo Na Ra Ya Na Ya work to cleanse the eight vital centers of the body. Most of the songs’ introductions are verses of surrender to the grace that is present in every atom of every being. For example, in one sloka in “Bageshri,” we say, you are the mother, the father, the teacher, my friend, the grace in me, the valor in me – I surrender all to you, Lord of all.

In the sloka in “Basanth Mukhari,” we say, I offer all the thoughts, words and acts I have done to the Lord again and again. The result is a physical transformation that I felt compelled to share.

I personally discovered the healing power of the mantra after I found myself feeling physically great whenever I sang these words.

This is a powerful healing mantra that works to cleanse the eight vital centers of the body. Most of the songs’ introductions are verses of surrender to the grace that is present in every atom of every being. The chant is recreated as eight melodious songs in ragas melding Carnatic, Hindustani and Western influences and accompaniments. I composed the songs to be easy to sing by all audiences – young, old, East and West – whether they are trained in Indian music or not. I also wanted to make the process of meditation and contemplation joyous, so there are vibrant rhythms and percussion instruments woven into the songs.

When you sing, you also have to believe from your inner being about the healing power of this mantra. That combined with the vibrations from the chanting are what bring about this powerful healing feeling.